Spirits Undefeated
by NCR Ranger
Summary: The Walkers saw each other through the obliteration of San Diego. The Federation has failed to understand the depth of the strength they gained from that monstrous day goes.
1. Chapter 1

San Diego, California, USA

8:46am, local clock

* * *

The world was coming to an end around them.

_Something_, an honest to God _orbital weapons system_ called ODIN, was raining down absolute_ bedlam_ onto San Diego.

How exactly it was doing this, neither of the Walker brothers knew. All they _did_ know, was that pure _death_ was coming from above.

They had both seen roiling, swirling columns of smoke and dust rising like storm clouds over the tops of the stucco-roofed buildings , and the pavement itself had began to shake and quiver as if an Earthquake was tearing through the region. They had actually thought what was happening _was_ a quake, until their father had yelled over the din of the deafening noise that it wasn't.

_" ODIN ! Its ODIN ! "_

They had barely heard him, over the competingly loud sounds of explosions that literally sounded like thunderclaps on sea level, the overlapping wail of multiple car alarms, and the rumble of the Earth cracking itself open._ Somehow_, they had. Thier old man was a career soldier; he could really yell when he had to.

And now certainly called for that.

" _What's ODIN_ ?! ", a severly confused and frightened Hesh had shouted.

" _A SPACE WEAPON_ ! _ORBITAL BOMBARDMENT_ ! "

To say _that_ was the last response they'd expected, was an understatement. The brothers Walker, chasing their dad up the road back toward their house, had nearly come to a halt out of pure shock.

_Orbital weapons ?! _

_" I'LL GET THE TRUCK! GET TO THE HOUSE, AND WAIT THERE! GO ! ", _the older man had ordered.

" But, _Dad, we can't leave y_-! "

_" NOW , boys ! HURRRY ! "_

And with that, he was gone. Racing off with impressive speed for a man who was greying, thorugh and into the maelstrom of chaos.

_Absolute_ sidewalks were getting carved apart, billowing clouds of dust were erupting out of them, and there was so. Much. _Noise. _Screams could be heard from every direction over the sounds of destruction as residents fled from their homes- the ones who were taking their chances making a run for it, that was.

With all of that combined, their dad dissappeared nearly at once. He was gone.

The Walkers were left on their own. It was the _height_ of the " Everyone for themselves " scenario.

" What the- _Hesh ! What'd we do ?!_ "

Hesh looked at his brother's face, right in the eyes, and saw how scared he was. He had no dobut he looked equally as terrified. The damn sky was exploding over their heads !

But, what else _could_ they do, except as they'd been told ? Their old man had a plan. _They_ didn't.

**KRA-BOOOOOM !**

An eardrum-stinging roar shattered the air. Logan cried out.

Hesh grabbed him by both shoulders.

" **Hey** ! We're **_not_** dying here ! ", he yelled.

" We do as Dad says, ok ! **Ok** ?!"

Logan still looked stunned, and more than a tad overwhelmed, but he wasn't panicing. Not entirely.

" I- Ok. ! Got it ! ". He nodded, swallowing.

" Lead the way ! "

**KRA-BOOOOOM !**

Hesh didn't need any encourgement. He wans't letting his younger bro die here.

He wasn't letting _either_ of them die here.

"_ Let's go_ ! "

He set off at a dead sprint, grabbing a handful of Logan's jacket and hauling him along.

They _ran. _

A blue Suburban careened down the street toward them, going at well over the limit. Engine bellowing, the big SUV shot forward, its headlights on, and horn going at full blast.

_Breeeeeeep ! Breeeeeeep !_

**_Vrmmmmmmmmmm!_**

**_" Son of a bitch ! "_**

**_" _**_Look out, Logan ! "_

They swerved off to the right, and the speed demon barelled past, still at redline speeds. Whether or not the driver had ever seen them, they wouldn't ever know.

Across the street, as the explosions continued. The vibrations they produced were getting stronger and stronger, as if the detonations were creeping closer. The sounds they produced were louder and louder, making the Walker brother's ears hurt with each one.

**KRA-BOOOOOM !**

**" Shit ! "**

Logan swore, voice fearfull, but when Hesh whipped his head around to check on him, he was still running. Logan had stumbled, but he wasn't down.

" **What the hell is this, Hesh _?!_ **"

" Keep going, man !** Keep going !** "

They kept going. They had no choice. No choice at all.

Up the slope of the front lawn of their house, staggering across the trimmed grass halfway along as another salvo of vibrations hit them.

**KRA-BOOOOOM !**

Past the fountain, whose water was slopping madly and crazily out of the eggshell white, bowl shaped structure. It soaked the grass around it as the Walkers ran by.

" Nearly there, Logan ! "

Hesh's lungs were burning fiercely by now, as were his legs, but he didn't let the latter stop moving. He willed the former to keep powering the latter.

" **Nearly there** ! "

They _were,_ too. The front doors of their home- a eleganty designed set made of Mahogany wood and frosted glass, at the too of a short flight of granite steps- were _dead_ ahead. You could throw a basketball and hit them.

With Logan in tow, Hesh charged up them.

**KRA-BOOOOOM !**

Hesh actually _did_ fall now, all but spraining his wrist when he put it out to stop himself hitting the ground. His knee made contact, and stung like sin, but he restrained from saying a word.

_Barely._

_" _You- you ok_ ?! ", _panted Logan, skidding to a halt next to him.

" Hesh ?! "

" Yeah ! Yeah, its fine ! ". Hesh ignored the stinging in his kneecaps. Or did his best, at least.

He had to.

Getting it together, he crawled forward on all fours, tearing aisde the welcome mat, to reveal the house key hidden beneath.

" Ok, thank God-! "

**KRA-BOOOOOM !**

The ground shuddered. Vibrations flowed through it, as Hesh stood, key in hand, and all but rammed it into the lock. Turned it.

He threw the doors open.

" **Logan**-! "

The younger Walker was already moving, though. He crossed the threshold nearly in perfect sync with Hesh, staggering inside with a clap of his sneaker soles on the beige floor tiles.

" Get in, get in ! "

Spotting his brother inside, Hesh slammed the doors shut. Locking them again wasn't as fluid or smooth as unlocking them- his hands were shaking surprisingly hard, for some odd reason- but he managed.

" Got it !Got it... "

_Chk. _The lock turned.

At _last,_ he was aware of himself breathing out.

" Oh, my God, Hesh. " Logan sounded like he was simultaneously also not. Like he couldn't process everything that was going on.

" Oh, good lord. Oh, God, oh God- "

Hesh's pulse was thundering like a freight train. He could hear it in his ears, as a raw _whm, whm, whm _of the blood pumping. The surface of his palms was sticky with sweat.

He couldn't think of anything to say. This wasn't an attack. This wasn't terrorism. This was-

What, exactly ? He didn't know. Except that it was _pure death_ out there.

And he couldn't hear himself _think_ properly.

**BOOOOOM ! !BMMMM!**

More vibrations literally_ rippled_ through the beige floor tiles.

A choice expletive escaped Logan Walker's mouth, as he involuntarily staggered back. His blazer-clad back thumped hard into the wall, as a mounted ( and rather ornate ) picture frame depicting a stretch of the California coast detached and clattered down. The chandelier that usually dangling high over the foyer also came loose, disintegrating upon impact into a shower of cascading glass shards.

Hesh was driven to his knees, hissing with pain as they struck the marble slabs. Waves of grainy dust and grime, shaken loose from beneath the walls, fell over and around him, along with bit of plaster.

**BOOOOOM ! !BMMMM!**

Some of it immedietly got into the throats of both 18 year olds, triggering sharp coughing fits. Spittle flecked the tiles in front of them, as they spit out the unwanted particles, struggling back up to a standing position.

" That-_kfff, khhhhh, ukkk_\- that sounded _close_ ! ", exclaimed Logan.

Hesh couldn't argue. However ODIN was causing those blasts, it was walking them nearer and nearer to_ them. _It_ had_ to be.

A direct hit on the house ? There'd be nothing left of them but atoms. And a direct hit could be at _any_ moment.

The longer they stayed, the higher that chance. They'd promised their dad they'd wait for him, but-

No. The chance was too high. They had to move !

**BOOOOOM! !BMMMM!**

And they had to do it _now._

" Come-_khhh, kuhh, uuua_\- Come on ! ", Hesh yelled, turning back toward the doors, waving a hand at them. " We got to get _out_ of this place, man ! "

" No kidding-!". Logan was stopped briefly by a round of coughing, but soon recovered. " We're-we're gonna get _buried_ ! "

" Come on, Logan ! Stick close ! "

Without wasting a second more, they made a beeline for the back doors.

The house they were dashing through was the one they'd grown up in. _Every day_, for nearly _two decades_, they'd lived in this house. They knew and remembered every corner and inch of it, from the winding staircase with its cedar wood banister that wound up to the second floor, to the curtain of beads that hung over the entrance to the kitchen.

They _knew_ this house. It was t_heirs_, but now all they could do was abandon it. They _ran_ through it, which would've given their mother a royal fit. If the cancer hadn't claimed her all those years ago, that was.

In all likelihood, it would be gone within an hour. The halls of this house were theirs to remember, but that would be_ all_ they'd have.

" _Allright-Alright, here we go, Logan_ ! "

Rounding a corner, they raced up to the rear doors.

Exactly the same as the front ones, they were all wood and glass, towering all of 7 ft tall. As 6 year olds, these doors had seemed like the gateways to the rest of the whole world; opening them was a way out to adventure and excitement.

Today, getting though them was their way to staying alive.

**BOOOOOM, RRRRBMMM !**

Pressing their shoulders and hands into it again, the Walkers spared a precious moment to catch their breath, and make sure they were ready to push in sync. They_ had_ to get this right on the first go. They_ absolutely_ had to.

" Ok, ok- _ready_ ?! " Hesh braced his feet against the tiles.

" Ready ?! "

" Yeah ! ". Logan nodded fiercely. " Let's do it ! "

With that, Logan drove himself into the door, hard as he could. Hesh did the same, as another distant thunderclap of an explosion sounded.

**BOOOOOM, RRRRBMMM !**

" _3,2, 1- NOW, LOGAN_ ! AGAIN ! "

Hesh threw his right shoulder into the impenetrable surface of the glass and Mahogany of his half of the double door, while pressing his palm into it as well. He put all his weight into the move, aiming for maximum force.

Off to the other side of the door, Logan , mirrored him exactly. Despite that he was an inch or so shorter, Logan Walker was no less fit than his brother- and certainly no less determined to open a path forward for both of them out through these doors, and onto the street behind.

After all, the house they were standing in was collapsing around their ears. The sharp cracking sound of some of the nearby wall opening like a book was plenty of warning of that.

Their ears kept hurting from the punishing echoes, but they pushed through. Staying put wasn't an option. Not unless they wanted to be buried alive when-not if- the house collapsed like a deck of cards onto them.

Or, if whatever ODIN was - what was supposedly causing those_ massive_ detonations- struck _right here,_ which seemed more and more likely. There would be no hope of survival.

_" NOW ! "_

Again, they gave it everything they had.

**BOOMMMMMMM! RBMMMMMMM !**

And on _this_ go around, the doors, previously jammed stubbornly closed, came flying open, and out they came.

**BOOMMMMMMM! RBMMMMMMM !**

" Woah ! ".

Hesh, his momentum accelerated by more vibrations, went right down the steps leading up to the door. His arms flailed, as he desperately struggled to stop himself toppling-

Directly toward a yawing crevice at the foot of said stairs, one that was at least a yard wide, and only God knew how deep. Hesh was headed right for it-

\- and only Logan's dusty fingertips, clutching frenetically at the back of Hesh's jacket, stopped him from tumbling in. The elder Walker brother was jerked to a halt, teetering for a moment before rocking back on his heels.

" F- Oh, God. Thanks, man ", he gasped, staring at the chasm that'd nearly eaten him.

_That was a narrow shave for the record books_

_" _What'd you expect ?! ". Logan hit his shoulder. " I've_ always_ got your back. "

**BOOMMMMMMM! RBMMMMMMM !**

**BOOOMMMMM ! RBMMBBBBBB !**

_Another_ volley of distant explosions sent the Earth buckling. Neither brother went down this time, but they_ very_ nearly did. Hesh was practically thrown into the hedge that ran up along the side of the walkway that led to the door, while Logan came even closer to winding up on the lip of the yawing crevice himself.

**BWROOOOOOOOOOOM !**

**RMBMMMMMMMMMMMMM!**

**" **_Aghh_ ! ". Hesh clamped his hands over his ears, attempting to block the roar. It sounded so _close._

_" Ahh, god-! "_

_" Hesh ! Look, look ! "_

Blinking away some of the sting, Hesh looked up as his brother shouted his name.

He saw the younger Walker, standing with his arm pointed out in front of him. Pointing down toward the heart of San Diego's downtown.

On most days, the densely packed urban mass, home to the city's main airport and the USMC Training depot, was easily visible from here. It was sprawled out at the base of a long stretch of sloped ground, which the Walker's neighborhood sat on. Usually, from here, they could easily look down upon the center of San Diego, and the impossibly vast, cobalt blue expanse of the Pacific Ocean beyond.

It was a perfectly made panoramic view of their Californian town.

Or rather, it _had_ been.

" Hesh...!." Logan sounded like he was in a daze.

Turning his own attention to where he brother was pointing, Hesh soon understood why. And it made sense.

San Diego, was gone.

Well, mostly. It was hard to tell, with the multiple and overlapping _mountains- _there was no other word for them-of dust and smoke that were now billowing and roiling over the city. The clouds themselves looked to be made of_ every_ kind of materiel known on Earth-stone and concrete, iron and steel, wood and plastic, fiberglass and paper. They were churning, swirling, choking thick masses of airborne particles that were blotting out the sun around them, they'd risen so high and were so dense.

There was still some light there, though.

The fires, that was. The many- and by many, that means _thousands_\- of points of light that were clearly fires burning all over the place. They were throwing off cherry red glows, as the sheets of dust and smoke were mostly hiding them. Entire residential blocks- _ex_ residential blocks now- were simply red glows, hidden behind the curtains of smoke.

Out at sea, the USS ' Midway ', the aircraft carrier that'd served the United States with great distiction from the days of Vietnam all the way till Desert Storm, had been neatly bisected. The aft section of the once majestic ship was nowhere to be found. Her bow, meanwhile, had been pushed up onto the pier that she was docked alongside, with ribbons of slagged metal dangling out the end of the severed section. The stars and stripes,_ miraculously_, still fluttered from her island's mainmast.

All around, it was pure annihilation. San Diego, had been erased.

That was why the explosions had now stopped. The Federation had done what it set out to do. They didn't need ODIN anymore- not _now,_ anyway.

Hesh Walker took that all that it had done in after only a few seconds. Or, actually, he_ saw_ it all in a few seconds, but processing it wasn't possible. Not on the spot. Not right away.

How could it be ? His jaw worked, and sounds came out, but they were merely sounds. Not words.

He didn't have any.

" Hesh, they- The _Federation_. They-they blew it up, man. They blew it all up..."

" All of it...!"

Logan, somehow, found words. They weren't remotely enough, and for that alone he shouldn't have said them, but he couldn't not know that.

Besides, they weren't off the mark, either.

There weren't even any emergency sirens- police cars, ambulances, fire trucks- wailing in the distance down there. None. There wasn't any sound.

Only the view of smoke. And dust. And fire.

_Damn them. **Damn them all**, those Feds._

Even a USMC DI's most vile cuss words were utterly worthless here. Every swearword, every profane insult in the English language- none of them were enough .

Hesh sat down on the steps. He bit his lower lip, and stared out at the burning ruins, as stinging came to the corner of his eyes.

Logan stayed were he was, head bowed, hands covering his clean shaven, boyish face. He wasn't crying- Hesh could see him out the corner of his eyes, and noticed how his shoulders weren't shaking, because that was a giveaway- but he _was_ doing everything he could not to scream at the top of his voice.

Not that Hesh planned to blame him.

The damn Federation had _obliterated their town. _Straight up_ erased_ the bigger chunk of_ 1,000,000_.

One of which was gone. Quickly as_ that. _

_" Look what they did !** Look at what they did, Hesh !** "_

The older Walker brother put a closed fist over his mouth, listening to the rawness of Logan's voice. He agreed and shared it completely.

And he still could find nothing to say about it. His mind was on fire with thoughts, but putting them into words- _what_ could he_ say_ ?

Anything ?

_There's nothing left. Not of San Diego, or of me to say anything about it. Nope. Nothing._

_The Federation. They've really done it now._

_" _ **Why**, Hesh ?! **Why** would they- they- "

Gripping the sides of his head in anguish, Logan turned back to Hesh. His face was a mask of rage and grief, in equal measure. Both were as strong as the other. Hesh could see that plan as day- or the fires blazing below.

" I- its "

Dropping his hands, Logan curled them into fists, staring at his shoes.

" Logan. " Hesh looked up at him, and reached out.

" Come over here. ", he beckoned.

Biting his own lip, his own eyes blazing, Logan slowly complied, sitting down beside Hesh.

The elder Walker promptly embraced his brother, hugging him the way he'd used to when they were 8, and when getting scabbed knees was common on these very steps.

Logan didn't relax, but he did finally exhale. It was a ragged breath, laden with anger, but he was at least fighting to stay in control.

It was something. Better than nothing. For several moments, they stayed that way, neither of them speaking.

Not that there was much to say.

" I hate them, Hesh. Its been 10 damn minutes, but I hate them. ", Logan finally whispered.

" I hate them so much. I- "

" That's ok. ", Hesh told him. " That's _**ok**,_ Logan, understand ? "

" Its **ok**. ". His fingers dug into his brother's now dusty jacket, as he kept his gaze away from what had once been San Diego.

They stayed put for a minute or so longer. Alone, but together.

Neither of them could avoid at least glancing at the ruins of SD, much as they did their best not to. The smoke was towering like anvil clouds, getting spread out in the air as the breeze carried them away.

Ashes and smoke. That was all that was left.

_Breeeep. Breeeeeeeep, breeeeeep !_

Out of the blue, the shriek of a car horn sounded.

Both brother's heads snapped up at once, as the horn sounded again from the left. It was then that they became aware of the sound of an engine rumbling, and getting closer too.

" What- **Its Dad !** ", cried Logan.

" It has to be ! "

He at once jumped up, and Hesh was only a millisecond behind, as a pair of headlights came into view from around the corner at end of the street.

Seconds later, a Chevrolet pickup- a sleek, newer model ( as opposed to a relic from the 1960s )- came rolling up, and skidded to a halt amid a sharp screech of tires.

The driver's side door opened, and half a second later, an older man with greying hair came racing around the front of the vehicle, as the Walker boys rushed to meet him.

" Logan ! Hesh ! ", he bellowed with relief.

Without missing a beat, he hugged them both. They hugged him right back, utterly ignoring how his grip on them was a bit painful.

That was _completely_ pointless. None of them cared, because the Walkers were _one_, once again.

" Boys. You're ok. You're **alright.** ", Elias Walker breathed.

He pulled back to look at them, gripping their shoulders.

" Listen to me: We're _all_ leaving here, understand ?_ Right now._ Come on. "

With that, without letting another second go by, he hustled them both toward the truck.

" Hop into the back ! Climb in, climb in ! "

The Walker boys clambered over the sides of the truck bed, swinging their legs over the metal walls of it and then sliding down into the tray-like space that extended out behind the cab.

Hesh made sure that Logan was the first to board. He held onto his brother's shoulder, practically dragging him over the top.

" Hold on tight, bro. Hold on. ". Hesh crawled forward, and pounded a fist on the back window of the cab.

" _Dad_ ! We're in ! ", he shouted.

From out the driver's side window, the older man responded.

"_ Hold on, boys_ ! "

With that, the truck's engine revved. 12 cylinders fired up all at once, a throaty roar rose as the pickup surged forward, tires screaming as they raced off down the road, swiftly reaching speeds that probbably weren't allowed in such a residental area.

Well, that was the thing, wasn't it ? This _wasn't_ truly a residental area anymore.

Nobody was going to be staying here anymore. Nobody would spend any more mornings here, or evenings. What hadn't been wrecked beyond repair, would soon be abandoned. Their whole neighborhood, that they'd always thought would always be there, wouldn't be anymore.

The city itself, wouldn't be.

Backs against the sides of the truck bed, the Walker boys sat beside each other. Bouncing and jouncing along as their dad ferried them to safety.

They didn't speak, as they went past the columns of smoke on the horizon. They didn't speak, as the breeze whipped up by the truck's forward motion brushed over their hair and filled their ears.

Then again, they didn't need to.

Because, they were still alive. All the Walkers- the three of them were still alive.

And if that was the case, then everyone they'd lost already had the means to get some revenge.

* * *

Present day

Amazon Rainforest.

Federation Territory.

Exact location unkown

* * *

" Hesh...Hesh...Hesh..."

To the severly bloodied man that hung by his wrists, from the walls of the deep pit, that one word was all he had left.

It was a word with overwhelming memories attached to it. Memories of why he'd taken up arms agains the Federation to begin with. Why he had been so driven to fight them.

Why he was _still_ driven to fight them.

" Dad...Hesh..."

_Who_ had fought them _with_ him.

He remembered them- could see them in his mind's eye, now that his own were closed. It was easier to keep his eyes closed-opening them was hard at the moment. What with all the caked over blood, that was.

" Hesh Walker...and Logan Walker...us.."

" _Us_ ".

Noticeble gurgling sounded from the back of his throat. Given the coppery taste, he knew it was more blood. There was a lot of blood leaking from him, from all kinds of places. He couldn't detect pain, though. Only this dampness all over him, and the strong coppery scent of the red liquid.

" Federation...gonna_ pay_. "

He felt lightheaded. Floaty, more like. The earth against his back was solid enough, but he felt like he was floating. Weightless.

And somewhat dreaming.

" Payback...on the Feds..."

Attempting to catalouge every sensation and thought anymore had become surprisingly difficult. Logan was aware of that much, at least.

It was very odd. It was as if he was slipping away, and falling into himself.

Dissappearing there.

" Hesh...he's out there..."

" I know...he's there.."

" Out there..."

Taking a breath in, Logan endured the accompanying burst of pain, and the second one when he exhaled.

There was nothing he could do about the pain, anyway. Or anything else about what was happening to him.

He was only able to do one thing now: Remember _what_ mattered to him.

_Vengeance. Revenge._

Remember, who mattered to him.

_Hesh. The Walkers. The Ghosts._

Because, he didn't know how much longer he could remember any of them.

So, he resolved to hold onto them all.

For as long as he possibly could.


	2. Sticking Around

April 16th

Darien Gap

Colombian/Panamanian border

0423 hours, local clock

* * *

Half a day had gone by, and the storm _still_ hadn't abated.

Chilly rain was falling as if from a showerhead; millions of bloated drops were pelting the jungle canopy in an absolutely constant cascade. Puffy, billowing clouds of ash-colored mist were raised high over the landscape, obscuring visibility down to less than half a mile.

The nearly gapless carpet of leaves, fronds, vines and branches of the Amazon's God-know-how-many-different plant species that made up said canopy were doing an impressive job of blunting the torrent of water, but they certainly weren't impervious. Multitudes of gallons of water per second were trickling and working their way down from the top of the jungle layer all the way down ( well over 100 ft , in the case of the tallest trees) to the cloying, suckering sea of mud that was its floor quite easily, running down and along every surface that wasn't absorbing it.

It was the rainy season, after all. Early April, when the largest rainforest on Earth was experiencing its heaviest dosage of rain. Anyone or anything living in said forest, or venturing into it, had to be equipped to handle getting drenched, because it _would_ happen to them, whether they wanted it to or not.

Water was gathering and pooling everywhere- in the chinks and folds of the branches, in the cups of flowers, and of course, in gigantic, ankle deep puddles that were all over the place on the ground. There was virtually nowhere to go in the entire jungle that was free of so much water.

Including the field shelter that the Ghosts had set up.

Nestled among the choking foliage of the jungle undergrowth, the simply made tarp hut was scarcely able to contain

Kneeling beneath the stretch of the tarp, Hesh Walker listened to the_ tapa, tapa, tapa, tapa _of the raindrops as they hit the improvised roof. If it hadn't been stretched out the way it was, Hesh had often noted, he'd have gotten an unwanted soaking by now.

Not that it didn't have limits, though. It was too low overhead for him to stand, but not so low that he had to risk giving himself back pain from jackknifing over. Most importantly of all, though, the simple tarp hut had protection on the flanks, preventing him ( mostly ) from getting splashed by the copious amounts of water that was coming in from all sides. That was the most important thing about it- as long as it could keep him mostly dry, then it was doing its job.

One less thing to nag at him. He already had plenty of others

_Aside from being neck-deep in Federation territory. Also surrounded by some of the **most** impassable, untracked terrain on Earth._

He was sitting right on it- more tarp was between him and the mud, but he could still sense how...goopy it was. The ground was so sodden with water he could tell it was even with the tarp covering the floor of the shelter. Every time he moved around, the ground gave way a bit.

The air around him was briskly cold, but not sharply freezing the way it would in an arctic environment. When he'd initially arrived, the weather had been heated enough to prompt him to sweat beneath his feather-light jungle fatigues; now, they'd already been soaked though ( and in the more sensitive areas ) once again, albeit from a different source of wetness.

It was mostly all he was right now- _damp_. The only way it could be worse would be if he was frigid, too. Stuck amid snow, or worse, at the top of a

All _around_ him, and all _over_ him. When he'd heard he was headed into the Amazon, he'd expected more warmth than _this. _A deployment to the Andes would be the coldest he'd expect to be in South America. Not so much in the Darien Gap, right at the base of the neck of the Americas.

_Well, I got it Everything I could want on a rainforest hike_

_. Its gone, though. Now all I got is chilly and soaked._

Rotating his shoulders slightly around in their sockets, Hesh hunched them together, attempting to shut out the cold as he trained his penlight on the topographic map of the area laid out in front of him.

Sealed in a waterproof, transparent sheath, the map was the most detailed one of this corner of the Gap that JSOC had been able to secure-and despite living in the digital age, Hesh's map reading skills had been among those honed and developed during Ghost training. Besides, with the storm raging like a Democratic debate session, and the density of the rainforest canopy in its knotted up way, getting a solid link/coverage from satellites wasn't much of an option. Ghost teams always prepared for such scenarios, though, which was why Hesh had a nondigital map with him at all. One of several, actually.

_Ok, let's have a look at you. Again. There's nothing else to do, anyway. Not at the moment._

Hesh had already cleared and checked his firearm loadout- an IWI Galil Ace, and an IWI Jericho 941 handgun- multiple times this morning. The rifle was laid out an inch away from his right, and the sidearm was resting in its holster. Neither of them was going anywhere. Hesh could get either of them to bear on a target inside of a millisecond.

Their last audio check in ?

_" Cleared Dallas. Send again, cleared Dallas "_

Yes, they'd done that too.

So, instead, he studied the map. Again.

The penlight wobbled, as Hesh played it methodically across the map. Beginning at where he was right now-judging from the GPS device, one of the few electronics that could be counted on to always work-, he moved to where he knew was the southeast, following the path of the abandoned-during-construction logging road.

_Or some kind of road, anyway. Even the Feds hardly come out here, it seems_

Indeed. They weren't _anywhere_ near Caracas. Or Rio De Janerio, or any of the major cities of the continent. Out in the Darien Gap, the only contact he was likely to have- aside from one with the 2,000+ species of flora and fauna that resided in the Amazon- was that of _very_ inhospitable contingents of Federation soldiers.

_One can hope_

This deep into the Gap, which had long served a valuable role as a buffer to the rest of the Americas if you were headed north, anything that anybody could or would build would be well hidden from prying eyes. The virtually impenetrable forest was a giant black hole that you could sink plenty into without it being found.

Of all of those possibilities, though, only_ one_ had any meaning to Hesh.

He didn't care what else happened in the Gap- as long as it kept serving its purpose.

There was a sudden ruffling at the opening to the shelter- his fellow Ghost was ducking back, out of the full effects of the downpour.

" Hesh. Hey, Walker ! "

He recognized_ that_ particular baritone voice. It belonged to the best sniper in the Ghosts- who didn't speak all that much.

Glancing up, Hesh saw the masked, crouched form of Keegan Russ in the opening, as he swiftly made his way inside, leaving a trail of drops .

The other Ghost was dripping water left, right and center off the wearable tarp he'd been using to keep the rain off himself. The covering rustled and crinkled lightly as Keegan fully entered the cramped confines of the shelter, securely carrying his G28 marksman rifle in one gloved hand.

" Needed to dry off ", he stated, by way of greeting and explanation, sitting off to one side of the opening in such a way that his G28 had a decent line of sight back outside.

" Makes sense. Its pouring buckets out there ", Hesh nodded.

" Yeah. At least we had _some_ idea what we were walking into , though. ", Kegan reminded. The NOAA had advised that storms would be lashing the region, but JSOC had decided that said conditions could be a useful screen for what they had planned. If the storm would obscure their own sats and overwatch, then it would do the same to the Feds.

Hesh mentally rolled both eyes; he was 99 percent sure others relished the chance to slip the word " walk " into a sentence when they were speaking to him, simply because of that. It was a cheesy kind of wordplay that was _too_ easy to ignore, though, he had to admit.

Exhaling, he looked back down at the well-consuled map.

" Still no activity on the road ", Keegan reported. He wasn't known for long sentences.

" Might not change, either. "

A twinge of resentment began burning somewhere within Hesh, like a lump of hot coal lodged in his chest. He knew where it was coming from-

_This _can't_ all be a wash. No, no._

He knew why it was there. The hint of the thought they'd have to leave without having achieved what they'd come here to do had crossed his mind...but then it'd ended up at the very back of it.

" Command didn't send us out here on a vacation. ", Hesh stated, only half to himself. " The mission timeslot isn't over yet. "

" By noon today, it will be. We're pulling out if nothing happens by then. Intel's not always rock solid. "

That Keegan was right didn't do much- if anything- to damp the coal fire in Hesh. His teeth found their way into his lower lip, but he said nothing, aside from another sharp nod.

Pulling out empty-handed did _not_ sit well with him. Not at all. They hadn't crawled, slogged, and tramped their way through this green deathtrap of a jungle for all these days to go home with nothing to show for it. On top of the dampness and the cold, Hesh had been harassed daily-every few hours at longest, and every few _minutes_ at quickest- by every kind of bug that is known to be unpleasant and unwanted- and definitely a few that counted but hadn't been documented.

Basically, the jungle hadn't been kind to them. But, thinking of their objective here was more than enough to keep Hesh committed. Orders or no, he was glad to be here.

" And, sometimes it _is_ ", the elder Walker responded. There was slightly more ice in the " is " than he's actually intended, but there was no point griping about it now. Besides, he had his reasons.

Ones Keegan was well aware of, he knew.

_I won't give in so easily. There has to still be a chance._

In any case, Keegan didn't seem ruffled by it. The other Ghost shrugged, still aiming his G28 out the opening of the shelter.

" Could be. ", he conceded.

It was keeping the floor open, possibly wise, so Hesh let it go. He automatically reminded himself that, ultimately, what mattered was that they were _here_, and the timeslot _wasn't_ over yet.

_That_ was what was important. If there was anything worth pursuing out here- if there was ever a good reason to go tramping through the Darien Gap- then the current op they were on was it.

For several more minutes, neither of them said anything. Hesh alternated between examining the map and checking the albino pale, vanilla-white numbers of his wristwatch's screen that were blazing in the heavily shadowed shelter.

The boredom was completing a mix of sensations running through him, along with the dampness, the cold, and the pent up tension that was building away. All of them were strong and palpable- but Hesh didn't doubt which was strongest.

_I am here for one man. No, wait- here for a man, and-_

**_Rourke._**

He squeezed his eyes shut, as a bolt of anger shot the length of his spine. It was heated enough to prompt him to shudder minutely.

Time crawled by. Hesh didn't check the watch, but by reckoning alone, it had to have been about 15 minutes. Give or take...

" Hey, Hesh-"

Still without opening his eyes, Hesh didn't respond to Keegan's use of his name.

" Hesh ?! "

Agan, the elder Walker didn't say anything. He didn't even move his head up.

" Yes ? ", he finally replied.

Hesh realized then that he'd sunk into that familiar mental pit of anger and resentment that he kept landing in more and more these days. Being this deep into Fed territory wasn't preventing that in the slightest.

Needless to say, it was only enflaming it. Hesh hadn't gone a day these last few months without ending up there, let alone the last few days of this jungle excursion. Let alone this very moment.

He was a Ghost, damn it. But, every day from when he'd had Logan taken from him to this, he'd been reminded that he was a _Walker. _He was the last one of them left, and he was the last hope of the last of the Walkers to be saved from something that was much, _much_ worse than dying.

" Yeah. Still here, Keegan. "

" For what its worth, Hesh, I think we've got a good lead. Its still flimsy, but its the best we've gotten. "

" I know: preaching to the choir. Its always been about Logan. If it turns out this road is getting used by Federation Spec Ops, then we know we're working with gold. "

The name was an electric shock to Hesh, as it always was, but he did his best to hide it. This wasn't the where and when for letting your own demons surface; they were on the clock, and he needed to focus.

He had to control it again. He could channel that anger- JSOC had sent them here for a good reason. One good for not only himself, but the United States at large.

" It is, and it isn't ". Hesh snapped off the light, and sat back.

" I got a _lot_ of clarity right now. All that's left is to finish this. "

If they-when-they met the Feds again, Hesh didn't doubt that.

" I get that. And you know I have your back. "

It was a needless promise, but it was also sincere ( as always ), so Hesh didn't object.

He needed his family, after all.

* * *

3 hours later, the growl of vehicle engines had alerted them.

Out in the_ Amazon_, the sound of engines was a dead standout. Even without the long-range audio tripwires, they'd set up along the shoulders of the road, the mere noise of low-gear-driven diesel engines would've been impossible to ignore.

To Hesh, it was an open invitation.

He could taste the adrenaline rush, as he stared at the cat's eye glow of headlights, headed his way.

The rain had slacked off by now, to the point of a light- but still constant-mist. The sheet of water adrift in the air was disorting the way the light streamed out- instead of long and piercing beams, the headlights looked like clusters of glowing shapes.

Glowing shapes that were getting closer and closer...

"-approaching, Fortress. ", Keegan finished the comms update. " No AFVs confirmed. Standby. "

" Copy, Spectre Actual. "

The sniper clicked off the comms, and readjusted his G28.

He and Hesh were in the prone stance, well hidden in an ambush position that looked out over the " road ". They were both nearly smothered by clumpy shrubs, bushes, and other low-growing plants that were draping leaves all over them, with that sucking mud squished and pressed up hard into their chests, and down their legs.

Hesh'd mind had switched operating modes. In his current one, every thought had Logan in it.

The vehicles approaching? They might be going to get him. They might be taking more guards to where he was being held, wherever that was.

They might-

_Pipe dream. Pipe dream...they **won't** have him._

His finger was resting on the Galil's trigger. He'd already disengaged the safety.

_You're a Ghost. You are a** team** player._

Yes, but the Walker team had been shattered long ago. Now, coming right at him was a tangible link to fixing that.

If he stuck to the plan. If he-

_Light them up. Light them up...  
_

" Keep tracking those movers, Hesh. ", Keegan's muzzle bobbed, as the headlights coalesced.

" Let them roll by. I've got the tag ready. "

Hesh could hear the other Ghost talking, and he could even process the words, but they did nothing to stop his own thoughts.

_Logan...Logan..._

He bit his lower lip again, as the headlights finally shifted to the side, as the vehicles followed the curve of the road to their left, taking them past the Ghosts.

It was, sure enough, a procession of Land Rover Defenders, with 2 Humvees in the middle. All of them were painted the color of olives, with the tacky red and gold crest of the Federation emblazoned on their sides.

All were moving at a quicker clip that you'd reasonably expect vehicles to take on a mud-choked " road ". But, then again, when had the Federation ever done anything that was at all sensible ?

_Vrmmm,,, Vrmmm..._

_Crnch, Crnch..._

The convoy drew nearer. Hesh finger tightened, pulling the trigger ever so slowly back..._ever_ so slowly.

His breathing slowed.

It would be so easy to stop- or not.

_So_ easy.

" Ok, Hesh- here we go. Read with the tag- "

Hesh's crosshairs was already hovering over the driver's window of the second Land Rover in line.

He pulled the trigger the rest of the way.

And the Galil then roared.


	3. Rumble in the Jungle

The first 7.62mm rounds from Hesh's Galil struck exactly where he wanted them to: dead center in the Land Rover's front window.

Bullet-resistant, the glass didn't immediately shatter. Spiderweb cracks blasted out in every direction as the toughened material absorbed the kinetic energy.

That was fine, though, because that one round wasn't alone. More than a dozen more followed in the span of a second, slamming into the glass and forming a nice, tight pattern. So much force all in one space was too much, and the window disintegrated.

The barking of a G28 sounded nearby; good. Keegan was engaging.

Another half-second later, yet another round whipped in, and also found its mark- burying into the chest of the Federation soldier at the wheel. Dead or otherwise out of commission, the driver slumped over, and the Rover at once began to drift off to its left, mud spewing in rooster tails from its wheels.

With a throaty_ bwoomp, _the 40mm M203 under-barrel grenade launcher mounted on the Galil lobbed a projectile. It sailed out in a flawless arc, and nailed the side of the Rover. A brilliantly white, burnt orange fireball bloomed from the point of impact and was instantly swallowed by a puff of obsidian smoke. The jungle surrounding the road was lit up for several moments, with the jade green foliage turning the color of the flames.

_Bwrooooar !_

Even before the echoes of the blast had even begun to die off, Hesh prepared, and then lobbed a second grenade from the M203, promptly scrapping a second Rover in a similar fashion to the first.

As the deafening symphony of explosions continued, Hesh watched as the Rovers that had been following the first two rocket past, engines wailing and mud spewing wildly. They were going full redline, attempting to escape the killzone.

Holes bloomed along the sides of one of the Rovers, as 7.62mm rounds tore clean through. Hesh knew most of them were his, but some had to be Keegan's as well. Not that it made too much of a difference, though. Both were punching through, and would certainly kill the occupants within.

_Feds. You're going to die._

He worked the action of the M203, sliding the sopping polymer tube open and slotting a fresh grenade in. Heat flooded in his veins, in sharp contrast to the chilly rain that was pelting him nonstop. So many Feds, so close together, was a target that he was unable to ignore. The lure of taking out so many of them all clustered together in a convoy like this was too much to resist.

He'd entered a state of tunnel focus- locked on to engaging and destroying the enemy. The one that had so much to answer for-

Closing the M203, Hesh was already drawing a bead on the second Rover, but even as he did so, it was already moving outside his field of view. Not quick enough, though- even as the 4x4 sped past, he kept his sights on it, and sent a second grenade downrange. Another rumbling blast followed, and a second Rover was reduced to nothing but a pile of blazing scrap metal.

Smoking fragments of vehicles bounced and spun away into the mud, still glowing white-hot like BBQ briquettes as they sank into it.

The rest of the convoy sensibly didn't wait around to get shot; they were already gone. In the span of less than 2 minutes, the rest of the Rovers were mostly down the rest of the road, accelerating away to safety.

Hesh lined up his Galil on the rapidly disappearing Rovers, and loosed another long burst of fire at them, but the entire engagement was already over. The tongue of flame extending from the tip of the rifle helped to show him that the enemy was too distant.

He wasn't going to be hitting them anymore. Annoyingly.

" _Clear._ ", he stated.

_You should thank God your engines didn't stall out. I should've been able to finish you_

Engines echoing, the convoy vanished down the road.

Hesh lowered the Galil, smoke curling visibly from it. For several moments, he didn't move.

The rain...still hadn't slacked off. It was pattering down over everything, as usual. Hesh was keenly aware that his fingers would be severely gnarled if it wasn't for his gloves, and that his Galil would be in serious trouble of mud jamming if it didn't have its rep for reliability.

" Tag placed. "

From somewhere off to his right and behind, Keegan spoke.

" You jumped the gun, though. "

That was Keegan; he knew there was no point in reaming Hesh out for doing what any of them would've done. Especially given that the objective had been accomplished regardless. He was a very even-tempered Ghost, at all times, even ones such as now: Right on the heels of an engagement that hadn't gone perfectly to plan.

Turning to face him, Hesh found the other Ghost was in the kneeling position, still concealed in the foliage at the edge of the road. He hadn't moved at all up till now, perfectly living up to his reputation as an ambush predator.

He was studying his glowing TacPad, grasping it in one hand, and the G28 in the other. Unlike Hesh's Galil, though, it didn't appear to be smoldering. Not as much, at least.

Hesh was about to respond- _what did you expect me to do ?_-when the sniper beat him to it: " Nothing to say after the fact. We tagged the Rover, and I've got the signal online. "

" Raise HQ, and give them the update. "

Somehow, Hesh didn't doubt that Keegan would bring up what had happened back at the ambush later on, back when they were on base again. He _had_ jumped the gun, gone against the precise timeline. Being calm and collected about it now as he was, that didn't mean he wouldn't revisit it. In all likelihood, he would.

But, that was neither here nor there. Hesh had his reasons for pouncing on them when he did, and he would've done it again if given the chance. Rewind time, and he'd have done it again. It wasn't as if it was completely against their op plan, after all.

" Right...on it. "

Safing the Galil, and slinging it, Hesh activated his long range comms.

" Fortress, Fortress, this is Spectre 2-1. "


End file.
